The Dow Jones today is taking another deep dive as U.S.-China trade problems accelerate. China said this morning that trade discussions would not continue until the United States confronts its own "wrong actions" in these talks. China cited no examples.
Other news moving the Dow today: Oil prices continue to tank, and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) falls from grace. Details below.
Here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
25,776.61
-100.72
-0.39
S&P 500
2,856.27
-8.09
-0.28
Nasdaq
7,750.84
-34.88
-0.45
Now, here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Thursday
Oil prices continue to slide, and it's starting to break down through technical support levels. Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration announced that domestic crude stocks had increased while refinery demand was lower than expected. U.S. crude inventories hit their highest levels since July 2017, adding another 4.7 million barrels to stocks. Analysts around the globe are concerned about slowing demand caused by weakened global growth and the U.S.-China trade standoff. But here's a backdoor play to help you beat the negative trends.
The trade war is escalating again. The United States and China are far from any deal that could salvage the situation for investors. On Wednesday, multiple media outlets suggested the Trump administration may restrict Chinese surveillance provider Hikvision from purchasing American components. The nations have slapped each other with big tariffs all year and now are freezing out each other's tech companies, hurting consumer and business sentiment. Reports this week indicated that China might consider restricting Chinese market access to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) very soon.
Brexit is once again causing headaches for investors. British Steel said that orders from European Union members had collapsed due to ongoing uncertainty around the nation's departure from the world's largest economic bloc, forcing the nation's second largest steel provider to seek government bailout. The announcement will put 5,000 jobs at risk and could cost another possible 20,000 jobs very soon.
Stock to Watch Today: BA, WB, BIDU, TSLA
Shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) will be in focus Thursday. The company will discuss plans with government regulators from around the world to get its Max 737 jets back in the sky. The best-selling plane has been grounded since March in the wake of a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people. Following the crash and subsequent grounding of all 737 Max jets, BA has declined by 20%.
Shares of Weibo Inc. (NASDAQ: WB) will plunge as the company unveils its latest earnings report. Like its counterparts Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Sogou (NASDAQ: SOGO), the company has struggled due to weakening advertising levels and the broader trade dispute between the United States and China. Weibo - a social media platform - is considered one of the best long-term investments in China. However, current market sentiment has pressed the company's stock down to 52-week lows.
Wall Street no longer loves Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), which saw its shares plunge below $200. And that decline could just be getting started. Despite CEO Elon Musk making a hefty purchase of company stock this week, Wall Street banks are issuing new warnings to private investors. This week, a Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) analyst told its clients that he does not expect a company like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to buy Tesla due to the increasing concerns about debt and restructuring. The analyst - a longtime bull of TSLA stock - appeared to take on a more bearish tone by suggesting that TSLA was no longer a "growth story" but instead one of "distressed credit."
Look for additional earnings reports from Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK), Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE), Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL), HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), SeaDrill Ltd. (NASDAQ: SDRL), and Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA).
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